LINCOLNSHIRE, Ill. — (October 26, 2008)  At Graph Expo 2008, Mitsubishi Lithographic Presses (booth #629) will launch the Diamond V3000LX sheetfed press into the North American printing market. A new model in the Diamond V3000 series, this next-generation sheetfed press epitomizes productivity and operability.

Mitsubishi will demonstrate a six-color Diamond V3000LX with tower coater and extended delivery at Graph Expo. In addition, the press will feature SimulChanger, Mitsubishi's fully automated system for simultaneous plate changes, and Diamond Color Navigator, a newly developed color adjustment interface.

First U.S. showing
Mitsubishi unveiled the Diamond V3000 series in September 2007 at the International Graphic Arts Show in Japan. Diamond V3000 presses combine high styling, high performance and more than 80 innovative enhancements to significantly increase press utilization. Drupa 2008, held last June in Düsseldorf, Germany, saw the debut of the Diamond V3000LX as part of the second round of Diamond V Series introductions. The Diamond V3000TP dedicated perfector and Diamond V3000R convertible perfector also premiered at Drupa.

Larger sheet, wide stock range
The Diamond V3000LX handles a larger sheet size than the previous Diamond 3000 series presses. It is engineered for exceptional performance on different stock types across a wide thickness range, from 0.0016 inches to 0.040 inches. The press easily accommodates paper, plastic and board up to 29 1/2 x 41 11/32 inches.

Maximum uptime
Even on presses offering the highest printing speed, productivity drops every time the press stops for maintenance or quality issues. Keeping the press running as much as possible is the key to raising productivity — and profitability.

In developing Diamond V3000 series presses, Mitsubishi targeted maintenance, cleaning, makeready and valuable production time lost due to printing errors as critical areas ripe for improvement.

- Press-wide improvements minimize printing problems stemming from excessive powder, oil stains, scratches, sheet misalignment, doubling, ghosting and water marking.
- A lubrication-free gripper shaft torsion bar and oil-less bearings on gripper shafts of impression and transfer cylinders shorten lubrication time by 75 hours per year.
- A new "Maintenance Mode" feature facilitates adjustments and lubrication in and around rollers.
- Installation of the powder-recovery unit in the delivery reduces cleaning tasks.
- A "Cleaning Mode" function combines end-of-job cleanup tasks and accelerates the washing of ink rollers, blankets and impression cylinders. The accelerated process saves two minutes and 30 seconds per job.
- A bender-less plate clamping system saves up to 100 hours per year otherwise spent bending plates.
- The upgraded impression pressure preset function eliminates five minutes of waiting time when changing sheet thickness.
- The improved auto-preset batch function reduces sheet waste and saves 45 seconds per job.
- Mitsubishi has pioneered the adoption of superplastic zinc alloy (SPZ) in press manufacturing. Characterized by high design flexibility and structural durability, SPZ is pressure-formed to create the easily cleaned contours and curves of printing unit covers. It also shields against electromagnetic waves.
- The feeder, printing units and delivery are equipped with LED beams so operators can instantly recognize changes in press operation status by the color and/or blinking interval of the beams.

Quality and reliability
Key features of the Diamond V3000LX include scratch-proof, smudge-proof transfer and delivery skeleton cylinders, air showers above impression cylinders, a gripper height adjustment device and an individual air chamber at each printing unit. New innovations in air management prevent scratches and smudging when printing on thick sheets. Redesigning the air hose arrangement and reducing the number of air blowers have improved air control efficiency.

At the same time, the Diamond V3000LX retains the seven o'clock cylinder arrangement with double-diameter impression and transfer cylinders, multimode dampening system and other proven features that have earned Mitsubishi presses a reputation for quality and reliability.

Impact of plate changing
Live jobs at Graph Expo will highlight the contributions that SimulChanger is making to the industry's fastest makeready speeds. With SimulChanger, printing plates at all printing units can be precision-mounted in just over one minute.

Revolutionizing color adjustments
Diamond Color Navigator revolutionizes the fine-tuning of colors to match color proofs. It reduces dependence on the color knowledge of press operators and eliminates complicated ink key moves. It also simplifies remote-controlled operations related to adjustments, such as register, water fountain and ink fountain rotation speed and ductor roller on/off timing.